GE Energy and enercity, one of the largest municipal utilities in Germany, announced the selection of GE’s gas turbine technology to power the expansion of the electricity and district heating supply for the city of Hannover. GE Energy will supply enercity with a Frame 6FA gas turbine generator and auxiliary equipment that, when completed, will more than double the plant capacity while supporting the country’s aggressive emission production targets. GE Energy also will provide enercity with installation services and ongoing turbine services over the next 20 years. The new equipment is expected to enter commercial service by the end of 2010.

“GE Energy demonstrated a capability to work closely with us to deliver an integrated solution for this important extension project. The facility will deliver heating and electricity to around 150 000 homes, with an expected reduction of 200 000 tons of CO2 per year,” said Christoph Kollenda, head of power generation at enercity.

“This plant expansion supports the German government’s initiative to add more combined heat and power projects, improve fuel efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and reduce carbon emissions,” said Ricardo Cordoba, president of GE Energy Western Europe and Northern Africa. “We’re very pleased that our technology was selected for this important project.”

While this marks GE Energy’s first contract with enercity, GE’s Frame 6FA technology has been selected for other district heating projects in Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia. To date, more than 100 Frame 6FA gas turbines have been committed or installed for projects worldwide, nearly half of them in Europe. The 77 MW, 6FA gas turbine is the mid-sized member of GE’s F-technology gas turbine family, which has achieved more than 26 million hours of operating experience. The 6FA output range, high exhaust energy, full packaging and robust design make this machine well suited for a variety of decentralized applications, including district heating and industrial cogeneration.